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ONI File 1.3E Combat Reports
ONI File 1.3E, also known as the 'BLAM Combat Reports' was a collection of after action combat reports written by UNSC Military Historian and former Marine Corps officer Colonel Brian Lynch Alex MacNeil. Using first hand experience from combat servicemen in the Navy, Marines and Air Force, along with brief interviews with servicemen in other AUR nations for combat reports. Analyzed and used a dozen times over and heavily influencing UNSC training, deployment and tactics, the file was later published as 'Combat: Frontline report' and was the best seller of the year 2626. UNSC Excerpts OPERATION:WINTER JUSTICE Account of OPERATION:WINTER JUSTICE from interviews with Marines of A1/BAG/1/3, dated 4th of September, 2603 The air assault troops had come in low, far too low to be detected by Remnant Flak Wraiths. The were flying in a broad V shape pattern, seven aircraft wide and three deep, with a squadron of F/AV-77 Raptors leading the flight and a large flight of D83A-TC Gulls behind. The flight in was incredibly low and treacherous, resulting in one Gull going down by pilot error, killing all aboard. At 6:33, just before dawn broke, they engaged the sleeping enemy with close fire support, with infrared and nightvision systems being used to locate and destroy the Anti Aircraft Wraiths as priority targets while deploying all but 7 Gulls. Using the rappelling lines on the Gulls in concert with the 20mm rotary guns they cut apart the enemy defenders and took the rooftoops of the ket strategic buildings, avoiding the targets designated as the command post and barracks. These were destroyed by concentrated INCISOR Rocket fire. The heavy rockets armed with beehive warheads saturated the target buildings and riddled the occupants with fire, with both targets being rendered neutralized. With a large portion of the garisson destroyed and the command building on fire, the officers dead, the defending forces were thrown into disarray. A Ultra Captain, identified as Enemy Combatant Brute-350-011, rallied the eastern garisson and launched a counter attack. Supported by two Type-52 Infantry Support Vehicles, noted by Marines as Prowlers, a Type-25 Assault Gun Carriage and a Type-52 Anti Aircaft Artillery Vehicle, they moved to secure the eastern compound and forced Marine Squads designated Charlie and Delta back. Due to the presence of said Triple A, they did not have the advantage of their air support and since such heavy resistance had not been predicted, the Marines had not carried heavy anti tank weapons. F/AV-77 designated Romeo Two Nine, Callsign Black Phoenix, attempted to move in to engage the enemy to buy Charlie and Delta time to retreat to the protective position of building six-three Kilo. Black Phoenix succesfully engaged the enemy forces at first, engaging VTOL hover mode and destroying the Wraith and one of the Prowlers with PINCER Missiles and a confirmed 21 Brute Infantry Combtants with its 20mm nose gun, along with a unconfirmed 11 more kills. It however was flanked by the Type-52 AAA and was shot down at close range by the AAA vehicle, to early for its CARAPACE Dual Active Protection System to activate. The left engine nacelle was destroyed instantly, sending it spiralling out of control. The Co-Pilot, First Lieutenant Josh Wright was killed instantly but the Pilot, Second Lieutenant Malcom Evanine survived the crash. The AAA Vehicle was immediately flanked and destroyed by a Raptor, Romeo Four Six, callsign Aka Tsubasa and destroyed with a PINCER Missile. Charlie and Delta retrieved and airlifted Second Lieutenant Evanine with fire support from Aka Tsubasa and Gull drop ships with the callsigns Blue Knight, Bloodied Rook and Detonator Organ. The Second Prowler continued to lead several Brute Lances, designated Lance 304, 305 and 309 to intercept 3rd Platoon. Corperal Harold Levy used a M23 Grenade Launcher with 40mm High Explosive Grenades to neutralize the Prowler and launch suppressing fire on the infantry while a sniper mounted on the Gull Dropship with the callsign Nasty Vodka used a M99CA1 Special Application Scoped Rifle to send a accelerated incediary tungsten slug through the torso of Enemy Combatant Brute-350-011, reducing him to undiscernable parts, beside of his head (His helmet was allegedly taken as a trophy by Staff Sergeant Linda Barnes) and the attack was repelled. First Platoon pushed the last standing garrison out of thier position using M705 Defoliant Projectors and into the snowy areas around them, where they became easy pickings for dropships and gunships using thermal sights to pick out thier targets in the cold snow and killed them. The Operation was a relative success, with the defending Remnant Forces losing six Type-25 AGC vehicles, five Type-52 AAA vehicles, three Type-52 ISVs and almost eighty troops, fifteen officers and a Chieftain, at the cost of sixteen Marines, a Gull Dropship and a Raptor Gunship. overall the Op had been succesful, with the Brute outpost decimated through superior tactics, deployment and air support. OPERATION: CAST IRON Account of OPERATION:CAST IRON from interviews with Rangers of 301th Ranger Regiment, 3rd Battalion, dated 21th of October, 2608 Brute Raiders had made landfall on the world of Attican IV, a heavily contested world. Rangers of 301th Ranger Regiment, 3rd Battalion had been mobilised into combat operations and launched from Cevani Military Command. Mobilised in under 24 hours, the unit was deployed surface side via stealth UV-479 Tern Interstellar Dropships. Brute forces had made landfall on the outskirts of the town Alektra and in under three hours and rounded up the civillians and closed off the town and began taking prisoners and shipping them off world. With a Naval unit inbound within 56 hours, the Rangers had the simple task of setting up the battlespace and preparing for the arrival of the Marine Corp. Dropped almost 19 miles outside of the town, along with supplies, they pushed closer towards the town in force and evading enemy forces before setting up a command post in the disused sewage works outside the town. From here the Rangers began Reconnaisance in Force and began to observe and note enemy positions while similtaneously sabotaging enemy positions, weapon emplacements and slaving operations. With Drop Day rapidly approaching the Rangers forces launched a Assault in Force. Nineteen hours prior to the arrival of the UNSC 45th Battlegroup First Company and Second Company launched a carefully orcestrated Ghost Assault, using the sewage system to pop up behind enemy positions and launch guerilla raids on enemy positions. The Rangers brought with them a ample supply of M899 Light Anti Armour Weapons to destroy enemy forces while Third Company took control of rooftop positions and began firing down on enemy forces and using anti aircraft missiles to protect the other units from Phantom and Banshee strikes. Battle of Kanna Lt. Commander Archie Puller, CO, ONI 43, Kanna, 2607 Under the leadership of Lt. Commander Archie Puller, ONI Field Operations Team 43, other wise known as ONI 43 occupied a spaceport on the Southern Hemispherical continent of Kanna. Team CP was set up inside the ordnance well of the spaceport's Pelican hangars, and ONI 43's weapons teams occupied the revetments near the dispersal. Prior to the occupation of the spaceport, Section 3 command had patched through to Puller that a major Remnant attack fleet was inbound, and that ONI 43 was to join Marine forces at the nearby spaceport. However, the local Marine commander had elected to deploy his troops elsewhere, with the result the spaceport was found devoid of friendly forces. The rest of the ONI team were placed in positions which offered sound cover and concealment, waiting for hostile forces to arrive. Although the ONI team was over a 100 miles away, they had a front-row seat when the Covenant fleet jumped out of Slipspace above Kanna, their bright wakes igniting the sky with balls of blue fire. The UNSC naval defense forces in orbit engaged immediately and before long the ONI team was able to make out the the explosions of the massive space battle which was erupting above. Puller borrowed the binoculars of a junior officer and was able to see a host of small purple shapes detaching themselves from the Covenant fleet. As they made their entry arcs Puller was better able to ascertain their potential targets. Most were headed for the residential sectors in search of better slaving and pillaging territory, but small flights of dropships were banking off and making approach vectors for individual targets, among them the spaceport occupied by ONI 43. A small flight of Phantoms peeled off from the primary body of dropships and began to head for ONI 43's position. They were briefly engaged by a land-based missile emplacement, but orbital fire from the lead assault carrier silenced it before it was able to down any of the approaching Phantoms. The flight approached quickly, and touched down on the runway segment nearest the dispersal area where my men were located, led by a blood-red Phantom, probably belonging to the leader of the assault forces. The Covenant infantrymen abroad the dropships quickly deployed. A few Jackals were acting as skirmishers, but due to the disunity among the Covenant at that point, they were not seen in the same numbers as they had been in previous Covenant actions. The primary assault force was a pack composed of about 60 Brutes, lead by an abnormally large Chieftain. Not wishing to allow the Phantoms to provide their infantry with fire support, Puller gave the order to hold fire until the Phantoms were gone. Given the Covenant's transportation shortage at that point, he did not anticipate the Phantoms to remain to provide fire support for their infantry, a surmise which proved correct as the Phantom flight quickly winged away, and once they were out of sight, ONI 43 engaged the Covenant infantry. ONI 43 opened fire from their concealed positions, firing quick bursts of automatic fire on individual Covenant infantry and utilizing grenades on the bunched-up groups. Thesilenced M12 SMGs and M73 carbines used by most of the team allowed them to retain a degree of concealment while engaging the Covenant hostiles. Confused as to the source of fire, the Covenant unit milled, disoriented during the crucial first moments of the engagement. The initial volley downed most of the Brute pack's leadership, further compounding the severity of the tactical situation faced by the pack. The commanding Chieftain (later determined to be the Marus) was finally able to rally his pack, locate our primary position, and lead a charge upon our lines, sustaining heavy casualties in the process. The sight of roughly 30 Brutes charging ONI 43's lines was a truly terrifying sight, and it is a tribute to their discipline and élan that even in the face of this significant threat they were able maintain combat effectiveness. Most of the Brutes were killed or forced to take cover, but Marus continued his charge. Puller concentrated his fire on him, emptying at least two M73 magazines into his body as well as several bursts of M98 Compact. Yet despite this heavy fire, Marus continued to advance, most of the fire being absorbed by his shielding and armor, although helmet cam data taken from ONI 43 members present at the engagement confirm Marus was hit repeatedly in the chest and lower body, returning fire with a long, inaccurate burst from one of his modified Spiker Fueled by adrenaline or the Brute physiological equivalent, Marus grabbed Puller by the throat, and prepared to strangle the ONI officer. Puller was able to wrestle Marus' second Spiker from him, shooting the Brute in the chest repeatedly, and forcing the Chieftain to release him. Having inflicted heavy casualties (48 Covenant killed or wounded), yet sustaining none, ONI 43 withdrew from their positions to join the UNSC's ground forces general withdraw to the Rice Line. Operation: RUMBLE WATCH Account of OPERATION:CAST IRON from interviews with Marines of 181st Armoured Regiment, 192nd Light Armored Regiment 11th Artillery Regiment, 78th Mechanized Regiment, 2nd Air Defence Battalion, 66th Heavy Assault Aviation Battalion and 11th Aviation Asssault and Recon Battalion, collective forming Brigade Assault Group Charlie, dated 22nd of June, 2609 Operation:RUMBLE WATCH was a supposed 'check mate' move by UNSC forces against roving Brute Armoured formations ravaging the great plains on the world of Tarsis III. Brigadier General Bradly Elis had previously engaged the forces of Grand Chieftain Kanus twice, both times were openly broadcasted as 'strategic losses'. Both times The Brigadier General had been goaded out of his strategic position by Brute forces through a variety of means and forced to retreat when the advantage ws lost, with minimal losses both times. For the third engagement he brought his whole entire Brigade into combat, a special formed combined arms group. He chose his position, the opposite side of the Kassine Valley, a very shallow but wide Valley, with the abandoned settlement of Roanapur in the bottom of the Valley. Though low, the sheer cliffs meant only a few ways across were availible, in the form of several passes. The valley stretched for miles both ways, meaning out flanking would be difficult and not time effective. The large village below had been abandoned by both civillians and UNSC forces because of its poor strategic position and difficulty to defend it from threats, meaning it was virtually abandoned. With just about his whole force in reserve, par the 181st, he waited for the arrival of Brute forces. At roughly 10:00 the first echelons of the Brute forces arrived, setting up observation positions on the opposite side of the valley. Soon Brute armor poured into the area and both sides began a exchange of fire. While the Brute Wraiths had the ability to fire without line of site, the UNSC forces were well dug in and possessed more accurate vehicles, with thier Scorpion tanks (along with G1 and G2 versions) and Monitor and Komodo AVPs, they outgunned thier frontline opponents, leaving the majority of Wraiths to attempt to fall back and bombard the enemy. This in turn was countered by the Artillery Regiment, who were held back in reserve. Bombardier Artillery Tanks, supported by Firefly and Viper rocket and missile artillery forced the Brute armour back into the fight. When Kanus moved his artillery to counter the UNSC artillery, they were immediately located by UAV recon and bombardied by highly mobile Hound artillery vehicles, which could counter the Brute artillery then reposition before they were countered. Now forced from his position and facing the UNSC's guns, Kanus ordered his infantry and armoured forces into the valley, to take shelt in Roanapur. This was just the moment Elis had waited for. With the armour and infnatry now in the tight confines of the village, they were vulnerable to infantry and aerial assault. The Assault/Recon Battalion moved in to face the enemy, using Raptors and Hornets outfitted with tank hunting missiles to ravage enemy troops. When enemy Banshee forces moved to intercept, Fat Tail and Death Stalker Anti Aircraft vehicles opened fire, cutting them to pieces. Once thier primary air force was down, the air defence unit turned it's guns on the village, the 40mm high explosive shells making short work of the infantry in the open. The Light Armour and Mechanized Regiments moved in, under artillery cover and began a brutal close quaters fight for the village. Infantry forces fought house by house, forcing Brutes out with hand grenades, shotguns and flamers, before flanking and destroying tanks with light anti armour weapons and the Coyote-series tanks were given the maximum oppertunity to hunt and destroy enemy tanks. With thier high speed and agility, they could manouvre the tight confines of the village better than the clumsy Wraiths, allowing them to flank and destroy Brute Forces. When Kanus' second air reserve came in to the fray, they there cut down not by the air defence but by the light armour and mechanized's IFV units. Turning the auto cannons and anti aircraft missiles on the foes above, they cut down the slow banshees before they had a chance. Now, with advantage to the UNSC and with a renewed artilery barrage, the 181 were moved into the valley to push the Brutes out of thier position. Kanus, determind to hold his position, moved all his remaining reserves into the valley. With over 700 tanks of various classes fighting in the village, along with supporting IFVs and infantry, the battle descended into a brawl. The Brute tank forces were virtually annihilated, resulting in almost 400 tanks being lost for the Remnant that day, with 2,000 supporting infantry cut down. The UNSC suffered very minimal losses compared to Brute forces, which were eventually forced into a full routem and pounded by air and artillery forces in thier attempt to retreat, while being chased down by light armour. The battle was not only a picture perfect operation of combined arms, with armoured, mechanized, infnatry, air and artillery units operating in symmetry, but became a brilliant example of military deception. Brigadier General Elis had purposefully showed himself to be easily angered and easily goaded to his Brute nemesis, who in turn, thought he could pull his enemy into they perfect killing position. However, in Kanus' desperation to get Elis' forces into the position to stop them, he comprimised his own defences and when he realised the UNSC forces could simply charge the hill towards him, he threw all his forces at the enemy, more or less throwing them into the UNSC meat grinder. Operation: VALKYRIE ENFORCER Account of Operation:VALKYRIE ENFORCER from interviews with Marines of VATA 1st Battalion, 266th Airborne, SRS Team Zulu and airmen of the 44th Special Operations Squadron and 24th Attack Squadron dated 30th of December, 2609 Operation:VALKYRIE ENFORCER was a special operations mission designed to put down a insurrectionist uprising. On the world of Montevado, a group of around 1000 terrorists armed with cheap, crude but effective black market assault rifles and RPGs took control of the town of New Gateshead. Stripping uthe RADAR systems from unflight worthy aircraft at the local airport and applying them in a ad hoc manner to cheaply bought anti aircraft missiles and large cannons gave them a effective, if crude, anti air defence. The UNSC didn't want to risk a airborne assault, for fear of the enemies anti aircraft capability and didn't want to launch a armoured assault, which would invariable cause large amounts of collateral damage. The UNSC was desperate to put a 'good image' on things, especially since public support was alrady in thier favour after news reports of UEG and UNSC sympathisers being executed in the streets by insurgents. It was decided to send in the Variable Altitude Tactical Assault Troopers, known as Storm Jumpers, under the cover of night. With the enenmy positions under the watchful eye of the Special Reconnaissance Service, the attack was made. Infilitrating at minimal altitude and low speeds, a number of Marines, bot in standard M6B Body Armour and M84C Alpha Wolf All Terrain Armoured Assault Suit and outfitted with LASER and Infrared absorbent paint, making them invisible to any potential heat or LASER based detection systems. Despite this, they would still be vulnerable to the RADAR as they flew overhead, so a E-456 Xiphos was deployed to initiate RADAR jamming to protect them during entry. After flying over the top of thier air defences, the Storm Jumpers took hold of the roof tops above and around thier air defences. Using grenade launchers and LAAW systems, they destroyed thier objectives, however, the Storm Jumpers were quickly hemmed in by enemy 'Technicals'. The 'Technicals' were modified four by four vehicles outfitted with .30 cal guns which, while not well armoured in anyway shape or form (though some surviving examples had steel plating over the windows, bodywork and hade 'slat' armour designed to defeat HEAT rounds), they had great agility in urban terrain. The Alpha Wolf Exoskeletons, while well armoured, certainly couldn't resist .30 rounds, but thier .50 and 20mm cannons could rip apart thier opponents. As soon as they became swamped in enemy reinforcements, they initiated 'code BRONX'. This was the code for aerial reinforcements in the form of A-110 Axe attack jets with high accuracy missiles, precision DEVASTATOR and HAVOC bombs and D03UH-AV Petrel Gunship with high accurate sabot discarding rounds. Soon after, airborne Marines came in, deploying from Gull, Hornet and Pelican vehicles to the ground. Though the use of bombs, high accuracy airborne cannons and close air support the majority of technicals were destroyed, with more retreating to positions the Axes or Petrels couldn't hit deeper in the city. Using high accurate laser weapons on Sparrowhawk gunships, more entrenched technicals were defeated. With marines pushing further in, under air cover and cover of the Storm Jumpers, they pushed the rebels back. Meanwhile, at the airport outside the the town, the Special Air Force Support and Liason Group had been assigned to take the airfield, even against enemy anti air power. Fully loaded King Pelican dropships acted as 'Wild Weasels', flying in high, setting off the enemy RADARs then deploying anti radiation and threat suppression missiles. These allowed them to destroy enemy air defences and close in, deploying troops and light armour straight into combat. They were countered by makeshift enemy gunships, made from passenger ships with guns position in the windows. Against missile armed gunships, these were a useless measure, with 100% being destroyed. Others were destroyed by intensive ground fire and one even knocked out my the 76mm gun of a Coyote light tank. The air field was secured with minimal casualties and damage, allowing D03 Dropships to come in later. The 'mop up' was a long and intensive affair, with UNSC forces being forced to clear out houses delicately and without collateral damage. Without Flamers, grenades of any means or explosives, they had to clear the enemy out through close quaters engaging. Though labour intensive, superior armour and energy shielding gave the UNSC a serious advantage. After almost fifteen hours, the remnants of the rebel force surrendered. Though somewhat costly, the Operation was a succes not only on the military and strategic level, but a victory in the political front, providing a positive light to the UNSC forces facing anti UNSC/UEG feelings. The OPERATION and it's highly televised nature provided the UNSC with a major public boost. Machina Federation Excerpts Vorenus Imperium Excerpts Plainsfier Tribes Excerpts United Sangheili Republic Excerpts